Tag Archives: WHC 2011

Saturday started with vampires. I was the lone female and the one who hadn’t published a vampire novel on the vampire panel at 10 am, a full 1.5 hours. Other members of the panel were Steve Niles, Marcus Pelegrimas, Joe Garden, David Wellington and Nate Southard moderating who confessed to disorganization. However they started the panel with a short video highlight movie vampires and various book titles.

The interest in vampires seems as eternal as the creatures themselves. We talked about the monster vs humanity aspects, the romance vs grotesqueries, the myths, legends and variations throughout place, time and culture, memorable vamps both horrific or noble, movies and books. We talked about our portrayals of vampires in our stories (I have three published stories and two unpublished) as well as other author portrayals, and once in a while zombies and a few other monsters like werewolves would sneak into the discussion. All in all the panel went well and we didn’t run out of topic.

I had my pitch sessions in the early afternoon, where each person who signed up had about 10 minutes with an editor or agent. I

Horror Library Vol. IV

pitched to agent Robert Fleck (who does indeed look like Clark Kent) and to Katharine Critchlow of Tor. Both said to send the novel on but now I must work to finish it. There were many readings throughout the convention besides those as part of book launches. Unfortunately I missed many of them though I did catch Claude Lalumiere’s dramatic presentation. I then read “Exegesis of the Insecta Apocrypha” published in Horror Library Vol. IV and an honorable mention in the Year’s Best Horror. While my name hadn’t been on the program and I was replacing Wayne Allen Sallee who couldn’t make it, I think it went well. I’m used to having not many people at a reading because you tend to stay relatively unknown until you have a book published but there was enough of an appreciative audience.

Many of the panels throughout the weekend involved selling, publishing, writing, editing and what happens along the way, as well as the future of books, horror and writing. I missed the rest of the panels and opted to wander through the dealer’s room again. I chatted with the people at Damnation Books and Dark Continents, including Sylvia Schulz, Adrian Chamberlin (who had the hugest Cadbury chocolate bar I’ve ever seen) and J. Prescott. I also met S.L. Schmitz as well as writers Brent Hayward, Bob Boyczuk, Ron Marks, Lincoln Crisler, Ron Marks and John Nakamura Remy who read a sick and twisted tale from Edge Publications’ Rigor Amortis (zombie love). There were so many people and conversations that I just can’t list them all.

I went off for dinner with a few Canadian writers to Papadeux, a Cajun restaurant that was across the street. I didn’t find it fantastic but I did find the prices high for what it was. After we came back and mingled through the mass author signing. I chose not to have a spot as I have no book published except for a chapbook of my speculative verse (which I forgot to bring) so I grabbed a drink and wandered through the signing talking with authors. I met fellow poet, the lovely Rain Graves and bought a book of her poetry.

Saturday night wound up with the Cutting Block Press party. The Austin publisher includes R.J. Cavender as editor on some of the anthologies and Boyd Harris. I have to give a special shout out to Boyd and award him the most awesome host dude award. Not only did he open his house to some authors the night before the convention he ferried us back and forth for dinners and lunches, constantly schlepped hot dog and margarita machines, kegs of beer, bottles of wine and other items for all of the parties. The parties were all in the con suite and Boyd never stopped, even on Saturday which was his birthday. I got to see what was meant by Southern hospitality and Boyd embodied that. We need more people like him in the world, so thanks very much, Boyd.

If I had a criticism it’s only that some of the rooms in the hotel were far too cold and it would have been great if there been a band because Austin is famous for music. The hotel was too far from the downtown so it’s the one thing I missed. The committee should have supplied itineraries for all those doing readings or panels and updated changes on schedules. Some were updated, others weren’t. But those are fairly minor criticisms. I’ve been to many World Fantasy cons and this was my first real World Horror con. I can say it rates as one of the top four cons I’ve attended for content, friendliness and never-ending amounts of food and alcohol.The Austin crew should be proud of the convention they put on and the overall camaraderie of the attendees. It’s sold me to attend another.

Here at the Chi hub (Chizine.com and ChiZine Publications…that’s online magazine vs paper books) I’m juggling my several hats, and getting ready for a short sojourn into the US. First, we’re accepting poetry again at Chizine as well as fiction, so get on it. I’ve just read two poems with provisional acceptances. What does that mean? It means we want a few changes but overall have accepted the poem. And Steve Vernon and I have made our picks for the poetry winners of the Rannu competition. The winners will be announced next month (they still have the fiction winners to sort out).

Whats this got to do with editing?

Taking off my plumed poetry editor hat and donning my slush editor fedora for ChiZine publications, I’m almost through my part of the slush backlog. Only one manuscript left in that pile. But…I have about three full manuscripts to read where I asked for revisions and to see the whole thing. A couple more might come in. What I find fascinating is that when I send out a positive response–saying these things need fixing. Once you’ve done so, send me the full manuscript–I often never hear back from the person. You would think… Hell, I would think because I am a writer too, that if I had a reply from a publisher I would definitely jump on the wagon…unless of course I have so many publishers knocking at my door. That’s a rare occurrence. But even if some other publisher is looking at the manuscript I’d be sending a polite thank you to the publisher. You never want to burn possible bridges of crossing for the future.

Still, there are some fascinating ideas swirling around out there in people’s minds. My travels to the US are going to be pleasure. I’ll have to do some editing for the first part because I am getting snowed under. But I’m also on my way to the World Horror Convention in Austin, Texas next week. It’s going to be a great time with parties thrown by Chizine on Friday night and Cutting Block Press on Saturday. In personal editing, I’ve signed up for a pitch session where first there will be a workshop on how to pitch one’s book and then a one-on-one with an editor or agent to pitch. I’m a bit nervous about that as I’ve never pitched before but what have I got to lose. The worst they can say is no.

Besides sitting on a vampire panel Saturday morning I will also be interviewing Brett Savory and Sandra Kasturi, owners of Chizine Publications and editor guests of honor at the convention. It’s an hour interview and I’m taking questions from the virtual audience to add to the list, so if you want to ask something of dark fiction and poetry writers, small press entrepreneurs and dark fiction editors, then post your comments here. I’ll be publishing the interview afterward, somewhere, maybe even here.

So, you’re possibly wondering, what does the above picture have to do with editing besides that I just wanted to stick a picture in here? Well, I am an editor and I am edited. I’m between a rock and a hard place. Because I wear the hat of a writer as well I see the writing world from two sides. Do I ever worry that someone I rejected, who also might be an editor, might reject me in revenge? No. We’re professionals and it’s the name of the game. I have a friend who is editor of one of the “Big Three” SF mags (which really is the big five) and he’s faithfully rejected me for years. It’s the way the world works. Likewise I don’t expect a writer to get all bitter and angry when I reject them. It happens to us all and yes, someone else might buy the piece. We’re human after all, with our own experiences, training and predilections.

It’s a business and that means the shopper and the contractor have choices. If more people actually looked at writing and publishing this way we’d have less bitter writers. Sorry I didn’t buy your lawn chair. I like this one better. I like that brand of makeup over this one. I like my produce from the mom and pop shop, not from Safeway. Someone else will like otherwise.

The blog entries could be sporadic this next week but I hope to blog about the con while I’m there. See you on the writing side.